Feed mechanism

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to a feed mechanism for a wall ironing machine of the type which includes two reciprocating rams driven in out of phase relation by a crankshaft. The disclosure particularly relates to a feed mechanism for feeding blanks into the wall ironing apparatus in timed relation to the movement of the rams. Two hoppers are provided for supplying blanks, one hopper for each of the rams. On the other hand, a single feed mechanism is provided for alternately receiving blanks from the two hoppers and feeding the blanks to the respective rams.

nited States Patent Prendergast et al.

1451 Jan.18,1972

FEED MECHANISM Richard E. Prendergast, Western Springs; Lawrence M. Rogers, Chicago, both of ill.

lnventors:

Assignee: Continental Can Company, Inc., New

York, NY.

Filed: June 6, 1969 Appl. No; 831,035

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 500,816, Oct. 22, 1965, Pat. No. 3,491,575.

..214/s.s F, 221/1 17, 221/233 ..B65g 59/06 ..214/s.s A, 8.5 F; 221/233, 221/234, 238, 268, 117, 242, 207; 113/113; 72/424, 361, 419

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1880 King ..l13/1l3UX Yost ..2l4/8.5 F X 3/1964 Schneider.. ...22l/242 X 3,314,274 4/1967 Langewis ..:.....73/361 x FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 563,701 8/1944 Great Britain ..72/361 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-George F. Abraham Altamey-Diller, Brown, Ramik & Holt [57] ABSTRACT This disclosure relates to a feed mechanism for a wall ironing machine of the type which includes two reciprocating rams driven in out of phase relation by a crankshaft. The disclosure particularly relates to a feed mechanism for feeding blanks into the wall ironing apparatus in timed relation to the move ment of the rams. Two hoppers are provided for supplying blanks, one hopper for each of the rams. On the other hand, a single feed mechanism is provided for alternately receiving blanks from the two hoppers and feeding the blanks to the respective rams.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEI] JAN 1 8 i872 SHEET 1 [IF 4 INVENTOR RICHARD E. PRENDERGAST LAWRENCE M. ROGERS ATTORNEYS PATENIEB JAIN a 372 SHEEI 2 BF 4 INVENTOR RICHARD E PRENDERGAST LAWRENCE M. ROGERS ATTORNEYS INVENTOR .LAWRENCE M. ROGERS RICHARD E. PRENDERGAST nonuzvs 7 PATENTED Jam 8 m2 SHEET [1F 4 INVENTOR RICHARD E. PRENDERGAST LAWRENCE M. ROGERS 5ml. MQM H ATTORNEYS FEED MECHANISM This application is a division of our copending application Ser. No. 500,816 entitled WALL IRONING MACHINE, filed Oct. 22, 1965, now US. Pat. No. 3,491,575.

This invention relates in general to new anduseful improvementsin feed mechanisms, and more specifically to a novel feed mechanism for feeding blanks to a longitudinally reciprocating forming unit.

This invention has to do with a machine into which generally cup-shaped blanks are fed and which blanks are reshaped by a wall ironing method so as to be in the form of elongated constant crosssection closed end tubular members which are suitable for the forming of cans.The invention is particularly directed to a feed mechanism for feeding the blanks into the wall ironing apparatus in timed relation to the movement of the moving components of the wall ironing apparatus.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a feed mechanism suitable for use with a wall ironing machine of the typehaving two wall ironing mechanisms disposed in side-byside relation and being driven 180 out of phase, thefeed mechanism being intimately operated in timed sequence to the reciprocation of the wall ironing mechanism so as to sequentially feed blanks to the two wall ironing mechanisms.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel feed mechanism in accordance with the foregoing wherein the wall ironing machine includes a crankshaft and the feed mechanism is driven from the crankshaft by means of a cam for converting rotary motion into periodic rectilinear motion.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel feed unit for receiving blanks disposed in a vertical hopper and transferring the blanks sideways into a wall ironing mechanism, the feed unit including a slide plate having mounted thereon a pusher disposed at one side of the hopper, and a resiliently mounted seat carried by the slide plate in alignment with the hopper, the seat having a portion thereof generally facing the pusher so as to urge blanks towards the pusher, the seat servingthe dual function of preventing a lowermost blank from being squeezed out of the bottom of the hopper by other blanks and holding the bottommost blank against the pusher.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel feed unit in accordance with the foregoing wherein there is associated with the feed unit a blank positioning unit against which a blank may be clamped by the pusher, the pusher having a resiliently mounted face plate to facilitate the resilient clamping of a blank in place.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings:

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a schematic plan view with parts broken away and shown in section of the wall ironing machine of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1 and shows the specific details of the feed mechanism.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal vertical view taken generally along the line 33 of FIG. 1 and shows the slide plate and associated guide of the feed unit in section.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a wall ironing machine which is generally referred to by the numeral 10. The wall ironing machine includes two wall ironing mechanisms 11 and12 which are disposed in longitudinal side-byside spaced relationship. Each of the wall ironing mechanisms 11 and 12 includes a ram housing 13 in which there is slidably mounted a ram 14 having projecting forwardly therefrom a reducedextension 15. Each ram 14 has pivotally connected thereto .a connecting rod 16 which, in turn, is connected toa journal of a crankshaft 17. It is to be noted that the crankshaft 17 is so constructed whereby the rams 14 and their extensions 15 are disposed out of phase. The crankshaft 17 is rotated in any desired manner.

At the right end of each of the ram housings 13 there is provided a slide 18 through which the ram extension 15 freely reciprocates. The slide 18, in turn, is mounted for longitudinal reciprocatory movement by means of a pair of extensible fluid motors or cylinders 20. The cylinders 20 are mounted on the ram housing 13 and each has a plunger 21 which is provided at its forward end with a fitting 22 that is connected to an am 23 extending outwardly from the slide 18. It is to be noted that the ram housing 13 is slotted as at 24 to receive the arms 23. A redraw ring 25 is carried by the guide18 for reciprocatory movement therewith, but may be dispensed with for some containers if so desired.

Each wall ironing mechanism 11 also includes a die assembly which is generally referred to by the numeral 26. The die assembly 26 is disposed in longitudinally spaced relation with respect to its associated ram housing 13 and includes a housing 27. The die assembly 26 is of a conventional type and the specific details of the dies thereof do not constitute a part of this invention and therefore, no attempt has been made to specifically illustrate a die assembly of the type which is actually utilized. It is, however, pointed out here that a conventional die assembly, starting from the left end of the housing 27, includes a redraw die, three ironing dies and a stripper, which stripper is normally mounted at the right end of the housing 27 1n the general operation of the wallironing machine 10, blanks B are fed into the space between each ram housing 13 and its associated die unit 26. Then the ram 14 and the slide 18 are moved to the right with the redraw ring 25 cooperating with the ram extension 15 and the die assembly 26 to effect a redrawing operation. The redraw ring 25 stops in cooperative relation with respect to the die assembly 26 and the redrawn blank is moved further through the die assembly 26 by the ram extension 15. As the redrawn blank B is moved further through the die assembly 26, the three ironing dies serve to iron out the redrawn blank. The redrawn and ironed blank passes entirely through the die assembly 26 and when the ram extension 15 is withdrawn, the stripper of the die assembly 26 serves to strip the formed tubular member, which is now referred to by the letter M, from the ram extension 15. The formed tubular members then drop down onto an endless takeaway conveyor 30.

In order to effect the automatic feeding of the blanks B into the wall ironing mechanisms 11 and 12, there is positioned between the wall ironing mechanisms 11 and 12 generally in alignment with the spaces between the'respective rams and guide units a pair of vertically disposed feed hoppers 31 and 32. The feed hoppers 31 and 32 are of like construction with the feed hopper 31 being intended to feed blanks B into the wall ironing mechanism 11 while the hopper 32 is intended to feed blanks into the wall ironing mechanism 12.

The hoppers 31 and 32 are portions of a feed mechanism which is generally referred to by the numeral 33. The feed mechanism 33 also includes a feed unit, which is generally referred to by the numeral 34. The feed unit 34 is mounted for transverse reciprocatory movement in timed relation to the reciprocation of the ram extensions.

The reciprocation of the feed unit 34 at timed intervals is accomplished by means of a cam 35 which is carried by a transversely mounted shaft 36. The shaft 36 is rotated in unison with the crankshaft 17 by means of a drive chain 37 which is entrained over a sprocket 38 connected to the crankshaft 17 and a sprocket 40 which is carried by the shaft 36. The cam 35 has a cam groove 41 which is shaped to effect the conversion of rotary movement to movement transversely of the machine 10 at predetermined intervals.

The machine 10 includes a suitable frame or housing 42 from which there projects bearings 43. A rocker shaft 44, which is disposed alongside the wall ironing mechanism 11, is

channeled in the bearings 43 for periodical oscillatory movement. The driven end of the rocker shaft 44 is provided with a lever 45 which carries a cam follower 46 that is seated in the cam groove 41. Thus, the rotation of the cam 35 effects the periodical rocking of the rocker shaft 44. The output end of the rocker shaft 44 is provided with a crank 47. The crank 47 is connected to the feed unit 34 by means of a link 48.

It is also pointed out at this time that the shaft 36 is connected to an angle gear box 49 and drives a longitudinal shaft 50 which is supported from the frame or housing 42 by means of a suitable bearing 51. The shaft 50 has an output sprocket 52 which is connected to a driven sprocket 53 by means of a drive chain 54. The driven sprocket 53 is carried by a drive shaft 55 for the conveyor 30.

Each ram housing 13 includes a longitudinally extending bar 57 which is utilized to support a blank positioning unit generally referred to by the numeral 58, as indicated in FIG. 2. Each blank positioning unit 58 is interchangeably mounted and includes a stop member 60 which is secured to the bar 57 by means of suitable fasteners 61. The stop member 60 is configurated to provide a seat 62 disposed'alongside the path of movement of the redraw ring 25 and is shaped to receive and fix the transverse position of the blank B. The stop member 60 carries an upper guide plate 63 which is secured in place by means of suitable fasteners 64. The guide plate 63 is utilized for the purpose of guiding a blank B into proper position with respect to the seat 62 in a manner to be described in detail hereinafter.

At this time it is pointed out that each of the hoppers 31 and 32 is supported from the associated ram housing 13 and die assembly 26. There is secured to the upper portion of each ram housing 13 and die assembly 26 a pair of transversely extending, longitudinally spaced angle members 66 which are releasably retained in place by means of fasteners 67 in the manner best shown in FIG. 3. Each of the angle members 66 has secured thereto an upstanding end plate 68 of the as sociated hopper. Each end plate 68 carries a plurality of generally L-shaped hopper members 69 which are disposed in overlapped relation. The L-shaped hopper members 69 are connected together by vertical rails 70. It will also be noted that the L-shaped hopper members 69 are of a split construction whereby each of the hoppers 31 and 32 may be adjusted so as to vary both the width and depth thereof so as to accommodate blanks of different sizes.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 in particular, it will be seen that the feed unit 34 includes a transverse guideway 72 which is suitably supported by the frame 42, such as by means of fasteners 73. The guideway 72 has slidably mounted therein for transverse movement a slide plate or bar 74. The slide plate or bar 74 is retained in the guideway 72 by means of retainer plates 75 which are releasably secured in place by means of fasteners 76. It is to be noted that the right end of the slide bar 74, as viewed in FIG. 2, is provided with a fitting 77 to which the link 48 is pivotally connected.

Referring once again to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the central portion of the slide bar 74 has secured thereto a pair of pushers 78 which are so related whereby when one of the pushers is in a position clamping a blank B against a stop member 60, the other of the pushers is in a retracted position for receiving a blank from the respective hopper. Also, it is to be noted that the slide bar 74 supports a seat for a blank adjacent each of the pushers 78, the seats being generally referred to by the numeral 80. Inasmuch as the pushers and seats are identical, except for the left and right relationship, only the left-hand portion of the feed unit 34 will be described in detail here.

Referring now to FIG. 4 in particular, it will be seen that the pusher 78 includes a block 81 which is secured to the slide bar 74 by means of a pair of fasteners 82 which are disposed in slots 83 extending longitudinally of the slide bar 74 so that the pusher 78 may be adjusted longitudinally of the slide bar 74 and transversely of the machine 10. The block 81 is seated in a shallow recess 84 formed in the upper surface of the slide bar 74 and the position thereof is controlled by positioning blocks 85 which are secured in place by fasteners 86. The positioning blocks 85 may be interchangeable in accordance with the size of blank to be fed if it is desired to shift the pusher 78 although different pushers normally will be provided for different sizes of blanks B.

That face of the block 81 which opposes the stop member 60 is provided with a recess 87 in which there is slidably seated a face plate 88. The face plate 88 is resiliently urged towards the associated stop member 60 by means of a pair of springs 89 which have the opposite ends thereof seated in shallow bores 90 in the face plate 88 and elongated bores 91 in the block 81. Each of the bores 91 is further provided with an adjustable stop member 92 having an elongated shank 93 which extends into a small diameter bore 94 in the block 81. Movement of the shanks 93 to the right, as viewed in FIG. 4, is limited by adjustable set screws 95 threaded into the righthand ends of the bores 94.

The movement of the face plate 88 towards the stop member 60 is limited by a rod 96 which is secured at one end to the plate 88. The rod 96 is slidably mounted in a pair of bushings 97 disposed within a bore 98 extending entirely through the block 81. The right-hand end of the rod 96 is externally threaded, as at 99, and has threadedly engaged thereon a stop nut 100 which is of the self-locking type. If desired, a washer 101 may be positioned between the nut 100 and the block 81.

It will be readily apparent from FIG. 4 that when the guide bar 74 is moved to the left, the pusher 78 will move the lowermost blank B out of the hopper 32 towards the stop member 60. When the blank B engages the seat 62, further movement of the pusher 78 will result in the compressing of the springs 89 so as to prevent damage to the blank B while tightly reta'ining the blank against the seat 62.

Referring once again to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the seat 80 associated with each pusher 78 is partially positioned within a recess 102 formed in the slide bar 74. Each seat 80 includes an elongated horizontal portion 103 and a shorter upstanding portion 104 which is integrally connected to the horizontal portion 103 and slopes at an angle thereto. A pivot pin 105 extends through the horizontal portion 103 to pivotally mount the seat 80. The movement of the seat 80 in a clockwise direction is limited by means of an adjustable stop 106 which is threaded into an internally threaded bore 107 in the slide bar 74. The seat 80 is resiliently urged in a clockwise direction by means of a spring 108 having the opposite ends thereof seated in shallow recesses formed in the slide bar 74 and the seat 80. It will be noted that the upstanding portion 104 generally faces the pusher 78 and urges a blank B into engagement with the face plate 88 thereof.

The seat 80 has two primary purposes. It is to be noted that the blanks B will be positioned in stacked relation within the hoppers 31 and 32. The normal force reaction would be to squirt the lowermost blank into the path of the ram extension 15 if the blank is slightly displaced towards the ram extension. However, due to the particular shape of the seat 80 and the spring force thereon, the lowermost blank is retained in the position shown in FIG. 4. At the same time, as is pointed out above, the seat 80 serves to hold the lowennost blank against the pusher 78 so that when the feed unit 34 is shifted to the left, as viewed in FIG. 4, the lowermost blank will be retained in the position illustrated relative to the pusher 78. Thus, there is the desired control over the blank B during the feeding thereof.

It will be seen that when the blank 8 is moved to the left, it will come into engagement with a cam surface 110 of the guide plate 63 and will be urged downwardly from its slightly elevated position shown in FIG. 4. When the blank is cammed downwardly, the seat 80 will be pivoted in a counterclockwise direction against the spring 108 so as to facilitate the movement of the blank into proper seating engagement with the stop member 60. It is to be noted that when the pusher 78 is moved to its position retaining a blank in alignment with the ram extension 15, the seat 80 has moved beyond the path of the ram extension 15 and is thus out of the path of movement thereof. It is pointed out at this time that the stop 106 must be set in a position where when no blank is fed and the sheet 80 is in its highest position, it will still clear the ram extension 15.

It is to be understood that when the plunger 78 associated with the hopper 31 is moving to the left so as to position a blank B against the associated stop member 60, the other pusher 78 will also be moved to the left to a position where it will clear the associated hopper 32 and permit the stack of blanks to be lowered so that the then lowermost blank will become properly seated on the seat 80 for feeding into the wall ironing mechanism.

Referring once again to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the feed unit 34 is illustrated in a position wherein a blank has been fed to the wall ironing mechanism 12. The crankshaft 17 is in a position advanced on the order of beyond the full retracted position of the ram 14 of the wall ironing mechanism 12 so that the ram extension thereof is moving to the right in FIG. 1. At the same time, the ram extension 15 of the wall ironing mechanism 11 is moving to the left. The cam 35 is so configurated whereby the transverse movement of the slide bar 74 in one direction occurs during approximately 40 to 60 of rotation of the crankshaft 17. By properly timing the operation of the feed unit 34, it will be seen that the retraction of the ram extensions 15 within the ram housings 13 may be held to a minimum, thereby reducing the required overall stroke of the rams 14. It will be readily apparent that the shorter the stroke of the arms 14, the greater the number of strokes per minute with the same ram travel speed and the lower acceleration at a given speed. It will also be evident that the specific correlation of the operation of the feed unit 34 with the reciprocation of the rams 14 is highly important.

Although only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been specifically illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that minor variations may be made in the disclosed machine without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A feed mechanism for feeding blanks to a longitudinally reciprocating forming unit comprising a fixed blank positioning unit positioned alongside the path of movement of said forming unit for positioning blanks in alignment with said path of movement, a hopper for delivering blanks alongside said path of movement remote from said blank positioning unit, and a feed unit mounted for transverse movement and for transferring blanks from said hopper to said blank positioning unit, said feed unit including a pusher opposing said blank positioning unit and a resiliently mounted seat for normally holding a blank against said pusher.

2. The feed mechanism of claim 1 wherein said seat includes a horizontal portion and an upwardly direct portion, said upwardly directed portion being remote from said pusher and having a face generally opposing said pusher, and a longitudinal pivot through said horizontal portion.

3. The feed mechanism of claim 1 wherein said blank positioning unit includes an upper blank guide which opposes said seat when said pusher is in a position for holding a blank against said blank positioning unit.

4. The feed mechanism of claim 1 wherein said pusher has a blank engageable face plate resiliently urged towards said blank positioning unit whereby a blank is resiliently clamped against said blank positioning unit.

5. The feed mechanism of claim 1 wherein said blank positioning unit is interchangingly replaceable, said hopper is adjustable in cross section and said pusher is adjustably mounted whereby said feed mechanism is adaptable to blanks of different sizes.

6. A feed unit for transferring blanks from a hopper and clamping the same against a blank positioning unit, said feed unit comprising a slide plate guidedly supported for traversing movement, an upstanding pusher carried by said slide plate,

and a seat carried by said slide plate adjacent said dpusher, said seat including a horizontal pomon and an upstan mg portion,

said upstanding portion being disposed remote from said pusher and facing said pusher to hold a blank against said pusher for movement therewith, a longitudinal pivot pin pivotally mounting said horizontal portion, and resilient means reacting against said seat urging said seat for pivotal movement with said upstanding portion moving towards said pusher.

7. The feed unit of claim 6 wherein said pusher has a resiliently outwardly projected face plate. 

1. A feed mechanism for feeding blanks to a longitudinally reciprocating forming unit comprising a fixed blank positioning unit positioned alongside the path of movement of said forming unit for positioning blanks in alignment with said path of movement, a hopper for delivering blanks alongside said path of movement remote from said blank positioning unit, and a feed unit mounted for transverse movement and for transferring blanks from said hopper to said blank positioning unit, said feed unit including a pusher opposing said blank positioning unit and a resiliently mounted seat for normally holding a blank against said pusher.
 2. The feed mechanism of claim 1 wherein said seat includes a horizontal portion and an upwardly direct portion, said upwardly directed portion being remote from said pusher and having a face generally opposing said pusher, and a longitudinal pivot through said horizontal portion.
 3. The feed mechanism of claim 1 wherein said blank positioning unit includes an upper blank guide which opposes said seat when said pusher is in a position for holding a blank against said blank positioning unit.
 4. The feed mechanism of claim 1 wherein said pusher has a blank engageable face plate resiliently urged towards said blank positioning unit whereby a blank is resiliently clamped against said blank positioning unit.
 5. The feed mechanism of claim 1 wherein said blank positioning unit is interchangingly replaceable, said hopper is adjustable in cross section and said pusher is adjustably mounted whereby said feed mechanism is adaptable to blanks of different sizes.
 6. A feed unit for transferring blanks from a hopper and clamping the same against a blank positioning unit, said feed unit comprising a slide plate guidedly supported for traversing movement, an upstanding pusher carried by said slide plate, and a seat carried by said slide plate adjacent said pusher, said seat including a horizontal portion and an upstanding portion, said upstanding portion being disposed remote from said pusher and facing said pusher to hold a blank against said pusher for movement therewith, a longitudinal pivot pin pivotally mounting said horizontal portion, and resilient means reacting against said seat urging said seat for pivotal movement with said upstanding portion moving towards said pusher.
 7. The feed unit of claim 6 wherein said pusher has a resiliently outwardly projected face plate. 